1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to musical instruments and, more specifically, to a high hat tambourine assembly that can be quickly and conveniently mounted on or removed from a cymbal high-hat pull rod.
2. Description of the Prior Art
High hats are typically formed of two cymbals that are mounted on a stand, one on top of the other, and stacked together one of which is linked to a pedal on the stand. A narrow metal shaft or rod, sometimes referred to as a pull rod, runs through both cymbals into a hollow tube and connects to the pedal on the floor. The top cymbal is connected to the pull rod with a clutch, while the bottom cymbal remains stationary resting on the hollow tube. When the foot plate is actuated by pressing it downwardly, the top cymbal crashes into the bottom cymbal to create percussion sounds that are frequently used in a various genres of music, including disco, jazz, rock-and-roll and other forms of contemporary, and popular music.
Drummers are always interested in developing new and creative percussion sounds, many of which become quite complex. Drummers typically use both hands and at least one foot to strike a plurality of drums, cymbals, base drums, sneer drums and high hats. However, because drummers have only two hands and two feet some of the complexities are introduced by adding percussion instruments that can be actuated independently or simultaneously with other strokes or movements by the drummer. Thus, the assignee of the subject invention, Rhythm Tech Inc. of New Rochelle, N.Y. developed and has marketed a mounted percussion device that included tambourines designed for mounting on high-hat pull rods. Their light weight and small diameter allowed intricate patterns to be played without altering the feel of the high-hat pedal. These high-hat accessories have been marketed by Rhythm Tech under its registered trademark “HAT TRICK”®. The original device featured eight pairs of jingles while the double device had sixteen. Both models have been available with polished brass jingles and constructed from an all steal frame with a black, powder coat finish. These accessories have been and continue to be sold by Rhythm Tech under the following model numbers:
RT7400 The “Hat Trick”®
RT7402 “The Double “Hat Trick”®
RT7410 The “Hat Trick”®
RT7412 The Double “Hat Trick”®
The tambourine accessories for use in this manner, however, were mounted on the high-hat pull rods by means of a screw wing nut on both the single and the double units. This necessitated that the drummer tightens or loosens the wing nut by rotating them, partial or multiple turns, and then gripping the jingle device to lift it or mount it on a pull rod. Also, this has typically been a two hand operation since the accessory would need to be held in position by one hand while the other hand was used to manipulate the wing nut. This necessarily interfered with and interrupted the drummer's stride and ability to provide continuous uninterrupted percussion sounds. This has been proven to be inconvenient than many drummers would like, since drummers are normally under pressure to instantaneously change the percussion sounds that they produce, and even in the middle of a single song or piece of music, so that any such activities as modifying the instruments used are mostly or completely undetected by the listening audience.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,960,028 a quick-release cymbal mounting fastener is disclosed. However, this patent teaches the use of a quick-release mounting device for securing a cymbal on a simple upright cymbal support rod. The support rod includes an enlarged diameter region forming a support surface integral with the rod intended to support the cymbal. The cymbal, the central portion of which is imbedded within thick support washers below and above the cymbal, can to be lowered from the upper free end of the post which is threaded to rest on the enlarged post support surface. The quick-release mounting fastener is formed of a pair half-round sleeve members arranged in face-to-face relationship to form a cylindrical surface for contacting with the rod. The sleeve support members are made of plastic so that they are slightly deformable to conform to the outline of the rod surface, should it have threads cut therein. A layer of a flexible material, such an elastomeric foam can be attached to the cylindrical surfaces to form a bendable surface for squeezing against the rod surface so that the fastener may be used on a wide range of sizes of threads that are cut or formed in a rod surface. However, the quick-release mechanism is used to primarily secure the cymbal and the felt from moving upwardly on the rod or post, as the cymbal itself is relatively heavy and the weight of the cymbal will normally bear downwardly on the post support surface due to gravity. The quick-release mechanism, therefore, is used simply to ensure that the cymbal does not inadvertently lift from the support surface, although the forces created by the quick-release device need not to be very demanding since, as indicated, the weight of the cymbal itself and the downward force acting thereon will generally prevent the cymbal from lifting above the support surface under normal use conditions. Accordingly, the use of a plastic or even elastomeric foam between the sleeve members and the post would normally provide relatively little friction, especially on a very smooth chrome plated steel pull rod of the type normally used with high hats.